Some clichés, dead metaphors and overworked expressions in business and government:

Clichés
absolutely
accountability
at the end of the day
back to the drawing board
best of both possible worlds
between a rock and a hard place
‘bio’ as a prefix in new words
blessing in disguise
boggles the mind
bone of contention
bottom line is
brave new world
breakthrough
buzz word
can of worms
can’t see the forest for the trees
cash cow
challenges we face
client focused
coal face
come to a head
committed to
competency based
continuous improvement
core values
crafting a mission statement
customer relationship management
cutting edge
defining moment
deliverables
downsizing
draw a blank
each and every
easier said than done
embedded
empowerment
enhance
fact of the matter is
fast forward
few and far between
flogging a dead horse
focus group
food for thought
foreseeable future
forward looking
forward planning
fully diversified
fully integrated
get nowhere fast
get the message across
give 110%
glass ceiling
global
globalisationgoing forward
going to the mat
good news is
grind to a halt
hammered out
hard on the heels
have I made myself perfectly clear?
head count
heart of the matter
heated argument
holy grail
hopefully
human resources
if you get my drift
in regards to
in terms of
in the final analysis
in the nick of time
infrastructure
innocent bystander
intangibles
interface
‘issues’ as a synonym for problems
it goes without saying
key to the problem
knowledge management
last but not least
level playing field
leverage
line in the sand
make no mistake about it
margins matter
meaningful dialogue
meeting the challenge
mental model
methodology / taxonomy
mission
move forward
moving right along
no blame
no pain, no gain
on message
on the back burner
outside the box
paving the way
people are our greatest asset
performance appraisal
plays a role in
pose a threat
prioritised
proactive
push the envelope
put in place
ratcheted up
reach deep inside
re-engineering
rest is history
resting on the shoulders
robust
roll it out
runs on the board
sea change
seamless
send a message
seriously consider
serves a role or roll
shareholder value
stakeholder
start the ball rolling
strategizing
success factors
synergy
systems thinking
take on board
take-home message is
taking it to the next level
team player
there is no I in team
this point in time
tighten our belt
tip of the iceberg
to be sure
transparent
up in the air
value add
viable alternative
vision
walk the talk
warm caring environment
welcome to the world of
when all is said and done
window of opportunity
win-win
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